Another Path Part 9 : That raised a storm

Disclaimer : Still don't own KHR.

You can now admire how bad my 'thug talk' is (any tip would be a great help in that area especially). And I'm sorry in advance for the cliffhanger. Please don't kill me.

To reply to reviews : CiaoKawaiirina : No, I don't intend for Haru, Kyoko and Hana to be major characters, but supporting ones, if only because I have trouble writing them.

whiteicewolf : I see we have some ideas in common (evil laugh). But not so soon.

Finally to one of the guest reviewers : I did base the beginning of my story on one I read a (long) while ago (way before I made an account). I didn't find it when I looked for it (and neither did I find the story you talked about) though I'd love to read it again. As for the points in common, I admit that I may have borrowed some ideas (but I used them differently if I remember correctly). However, many (if not all) of those ideas are used in several fanfictions already, so I don't consider it plagiarism. I would love to continue this talk with you, but it would be better for you to make an account and PM me, rather than have me write an overgrown monster of AN each week, please.

Things proceeded better than they expected. The first few jobs happened after a week. They were uninteresting, but chasing vagrant pets and helping carry shopping bags greatly increased their reputation. They always gave it their all, and their results spoke for themselves. Word of mouth quickly got them a steady customer base. The first people to hire them all questioned them about their age, but their talents promptly shut all protests. That, and they lied about grown-ups supporting them and leaving all the 'small' jobs to their kids.

There were a few rules to their business. First : nothing illegal, it would draw the attention of the Mafia and they didn't want that. Second : they were to always discuss any suspicious job with each other before accepting or declining. Tsuna was the leader, but he refused to be sole responsible for who did what. The others didn't mind. Finally, the pay of any job was to be talked about with the client before accepting. And any unexpected difficulty would increase the price. It should prevent the children from entering contracts and finding out that their job held more issues that they signed for. So far, no client outright refused those terms.

The first interesting tasks they were hired for came 6 weeks after they arrived in Italy. A woman called them (on the cellphone bought specially for their work) and asked if any of them could tutor her child in English.

Tsuna took that offer (he was the best one for that) and the kid got great grades afterwards. After that, many more tutoring jobs came. The language and literature ones were handled by Tsunayoshi while the science ones were taken by Shoichi -Kyoya was not trusted to teach impressionable children for some unfathomable reason.

The raven also got his chance to shine. A client called one day, saying he got the number from an acquaintance of his, and asked if they could be body-guards, or could contact a security agency for him. Tsuna, who answered the call, replied that they had just the person and that he would be coming, provided the man gave the address.

The client was obviously doubtful that a single man could deal with the body-guarding task, but Tsuna reassured him that he would be fully reimbursed from his loss should the job be failed with an added bonus of a few thousand euros. The man agreed with the pay Tsuna demanded and Kyoya went to meet with his new employer.

The man, who was a fairly reputable jeweler, needed someone to escort him as he delivered a command. He was shocked to see a child arrive and only signed the contract when the raven head reminded him that he would not lose any money if he failed -and when said kid glared so dangerously at him that he didn't dare contradict him.

A few gangsters tried to attack the jeweler in his car. The key-word is 'tried'. Kyoya promptly dispatched them and called the police. The rest of the trip was calm, and upon arrival, the client thanked the kid profusely. From then on, he became one of their frequent patrons and even spread their phone number to his friends and associates. Kyoya had a steady source of income, but still accepted more 'unspecialized' jobs like his friends. That was the way their business worked.

Shoichi had the same sort of experience after showing his computer skills to other companies. He was very talented when it came to securing their networks and repairing any damaged electronics. The red head also sold a few of his original concepts. He was paid the most out of all his friends, but was also the busiest.

Tsuna had been lucky to be hired to translate a few official contracts, and one thing leading to another, ended up translating documents and books. The best point was that he could stay at their home and answer any call easily.

Speaking of their home, they had decided to move out of their decrepit flat.

A couple months had passed and they figured that Vongola had definitely lost their tracks. Their finances were at their best and they were offered to buy a vacant land inside Naples for cheap by one of the companies where Shoichi had replaced their obsolete security system (with inputs from Kyoya). They already knew a construction company willing to work for them (they were still minors) since the three friends had helped them order their paperwork. They also used that occasion to learn as much as they could about construction, any skill could be useful in their field.

Drawing the blueprints and building the house took four months. In the end, the Japanese kids were the owners of a one floor house with a big 'living room' at the entrance where they would welcome their clients, named the 'Office'. The back would be private, with a kitchen, a large dinning room, two bathroom, another living room, a small garden and eight bedrooms -Tsuna had insisted, apparently his Hyper Intuition (Hibari Yukiko had kindly informed him of the name, but refused to say anymore) thought they would need many rooms.

They also had an underground level built, with five large training rooms -three large and two smaller ones- with different purposes for Kyoya and Tsunayoshi (who actually enjoyed sparing and learning from the raven, as long as it didn't turn into a real fight), two bathrooms, a changing room and two labs for Shoichi. They all agreed that, given the inventor's unfortunate habit of blowing up, melting, disintegrate or however else destroy things, a back-up lab where the 'safest' and more expensive devices would stay would be a great idea...

Since they now had a real home to take care of, new rules were established. They would take turns cleaning and cooking each day. Before, they would buy already prepared food and only clean the bare minimum since their flat was a wreck anyways and the kitchen consisted of a lone microwave and a tiny fridge.

Tsuna and Kyoya were fairly good at cooking. The brunet actually enjoyed the activity and tried to vary his recipes, while the Cloud kept to his traditional Japanese customs. Shoichi on the other hand... Well, let's just say that his curiosity and creative mind were just as active as when he invented. And that meant his food was not always strictly edible and occasionally presented an unusual taste...

But Shoichi was also the best when it came to cleaning. Neither Tsuna nor Kyoya had ever been forced to tidy their room and were kind of lost when the Sun handed them a broom. The red hair had to hold his laughter when they started swinging it back and forth with a focused face, only moving the dust around.

The three children also decided to continue their education, only from home. Thankfully, it was quite easy to hack into the nearest school's system, enroll them as home-schooled students and only go there to send their tests. Shoichi had said that they should try and get actual diplomas to back their reputation, and the others had nothing to argue. They even studied some college material of their favored subjects to get a head start.

They settled in a comfortable routine : they got up early in the morning (Tsuna and Kyoya always did, and years of friendship had gotten Shoichi used to that). They did their schoolwork in the public living room -the 'Office'- to welcome any potential customers. Since building their house, they only accepted jobs from new clients after meeting them face to face. Kyoya said it was a waste of time, but Shoichi and Tsuna argued that it would be easier to sort what deal was legal and what was shady that way. Patrons who they trusted and who had already made a deal with them once before could just call and make a contract through the phone.

The three kids usually spent the day waiting, making sure that at least one of them always remained in the office, and left to fulfill any deal they already had or just made. That left them a lot of time to study, invent, train, or care for the house. Tsuna was the one to stay the most in the office, partly due to his jobs (translating documents or books can be done at home) and partly because he was the most courteous and the best negotiator of the bunch (Kyoya was banned from answering the phone unless no-one else was available. Apparently some people don't like being called 'useless Herbivores who can't deal with their own problems' for some reason...).

At that point, no regular minded that they were all minors, and the new patrons quickly realized that they were talented regardless of their age.

()()()()()()

Tsuna and Kyoya had been hired for a delivery job that day. They were to transport two large, tightly wrapped packages to the other side of Naples. Thankfully, a few weeks ago, they had bought bikes to facilitate traveling around. The raven had wanted a motorcycle, but was still too young to drive.

Tsunayoshi's Intuition had sent contradicting signals when the client had hired them. It was like the job was a good and a bad deal at the same time. The man did give off an air of danger, but it was a simple delivery job, so the brunet had decided to take it. He still asked Kyoya to come with him, just in case things got sour.

Anyway, they were currently riding in one of the most unwelcoming area of Naples. The district was obviously very poor, and the few people they passed on the streets sent them distrustful gazes. Not a very good sign.

Kyoya was guarded and Tsuna was about to ask him if they should abandon the job when they turned and entered the plaza they were sent to. And at that point, both understood very well that this job had been a bad idea.

A score of men in pitch black suits were waiting for them, weapons loaded and ready to fire.

The brunet promptly sent a glance to his parter meaning 'don't start attacking them for now, I'll negotiate'. Kyoya just nodded imperceptibly. They knew each other well enough to read communicate silently by now.

Tsuna, who was used to adrenaline-packed situations thanks to his best friend, swallowed and attempted to calm the situation down. "Hi, we're from Caeruleus and we were asked to deliver these packages to this plaza. The client said that people would be waiting for us. I gather he was talking about you?" His tone was as calm as he could manage, and it seemed to appease his tense companion and surprise the men -Mafioso, obviously, but Tsuna was an optimist.

A man, dressed in a visibly more expensive suit, came forward. 'The leader' thought the boys. He spoke in a irritatingly patronizing voice. "Ah, yes, we were waiting for that." He gestured for two of his men to take the packages. The kids didn't move. "I didn't know that you would be brats, but I suppose it doesn't matter much." He was smiling at that point. It was vicious and sent shiver down Tsuna's spine.

"You two go and wait in that area for a while until we have time to... deal with your case properly. I've business to attend to and I don't want you wandering around." It was an order, not a request, and Tsuna -who still hoped to settle things peacefully- dragged his friend to the designated place. It was a corner of the plaza guarded by more scary looking men, though they were not dressed as neatly or as uniformly as the first bunch. Probably hired men, thought the Sky. The boys sat down on the ground and waited.

Soon, Tsuna spotted a younger boy in the midst of the mercenaries. It was a wonder he hadn't seen him before : the kid had beautiful silver hair and green eyes. He also sported one of the worst scowls Tsuna had ever seen (and he had seen a lot) and was smoking a bit farther away from the others.

Feeling curious and having nothing better to do, the brunet observed the boy. It occurred to him that the older mercenaries were sending him scornful glances or were openly slandering the silveret. Tsuna wondered why. Sure, the boy didn't look very friendly, but such spite seemed unwarranted.

The smoker turned and caught Tsuna staring at him. It seemed to infuriate him and he stalked towards him. "Hey, you bastard" started the irate boy. "Stop staring if you don't want a dynamite stick to be shoved where the sun don't shine."

Tsuna couldn't help but smile. Really, he couldn't explain why if his life depended on it, but he was amused by the other boy's speech. Kyoya, on the other hand, bristled threateningly, so the brunet decided to intervene. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare or to make you uncomfortable. I was just thinking that you seemed a bit young to be here. Are you a mercenary?" His honest curiosity seemed to unsettle the silveret.

"Yeah, I'm a fucking mercenary. And you don't look any older than me." he spit out, but the earlier aggression wasn't there. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

"Oh, we were hired to deliver the two packages they are opening over there." Tsuna pointed to where four men were lifting guns and riffles. "Although we weren't told we would be transporting guns." He sighed. "I guess we shouldn't have accepted that job." Kyoya snorted besides him. "Do you know what's happening here? We would like to be on our way as soon as possible."

The smoking boy looked at him with a mix of disbelief, pity and sympathy. He didn't seem so bad, mused Tsuna. "You really don't know?" Tsuna shook his head and Kyoya glared a bit harder at the opposite wall. "You two idiots have been caught in between a Mafia battle. Two Famiglias are going to be killing each other here in minutes and you're standing in between."

"Oh" nodded the brunet. He had expected that much. The silveret looked at him like he was crazy. He was obviously a civilian -though his companion seemed too bloodthirsty- and shouldn't civilians panic in situations like these? He was about to be murdered for goodness's sake! "I see. And what are you doing here? You don't seem to be a part of this Famiglia. Oh, and what's your name?"

The silveret was flabbergast, but answered automatically. "I'm Hayato Gokudera, also known as Smoking Bomb Hayato, and I've fucking already told you that I'm a mercenary. Though I was promised a place in this Famiglia if they won." And why was he responding to the crazy brunet? The crazy brunet whose face lit up suddenly.

"Oh, you're Japanese! So are we! My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, or rather Tsunayoshi Sawada here. You can just call me Tsuna, Hayato. And this grumpy guy is Kyoya Hibari." Hayato was dumbstruck. Why was that boy so cheery when he was about to receive a stray bullet (if he wasn't downright assassinated once everything was over)? And who gave him permission to just call him 'Hayato'? Didn't Japanese people refer to strangers by their family name? And why was Hayato already answering him?!

"I'm only a quarter Japanese. Never been to Japan in my life. And why the hell are you still so happy in this situation?" The raven head -Kyoya?- at the madman's side only gave an exasperated look at his companion and went on to glare at the air. Did that mean that this kind of thing happened often?

"Why, I just made a new friend, of course I'd be happy." chirped the insane brunet. "And I'm not too worried, you know. I'm sure Kyoya and I can manage to get out of here once they drop their guard." He affirmed with a beaming, innocent smile.

Hayato was torn between blushing for being called a friend (hey, it was the first time anyone said that to him!), yelling that he wasn't friends with mental asylum escapees, or carefully explaining that the odds of two civilians getting out of a Mafia attack alive were painfully low. "I'm not your friend." He said, tone lower than intended and a pink blush powdering his cheeks. Damn. "And I don't think you understand your frigging situation. You. Are. Going. To. Get. Killed." Apparently he picked all three choices at once.

The brunet -Tsuna, he was called Tsuna- looked miserable (how could a boy over 5 pull that puppy eyes look off?) but still offered a sad smile. "It's OK, we'll be fine. I hope we see each other again after that."

Hayato was about to restart his explanation when one of the men in charge called all fighters to the front. He sent a last glance to the two odd children and went to battle, dynamites already in hand.

The following fight was messy and Tsuna and Kyoya used the opportunity to flee discreetly. Kyoya wanted to bite a few Herbivores to death, but his friend hold him back : they needed to escape before people noticed or remembered them.

The two kids had finally managed to run a few streets away from the battlefield. Their bikes had unfortunately been left behind and the Cloud wanted to head home since he couldn't fight, but his companion was standing still and sending wishful glances in the direction of the plaza. Kyoya knew that look and could only sigh : Tsuna's Intuition was whispering him things again, and he wasn't going to leave.

"I want to head back there" murmured the dazed brunet. "There's something that we have to do."

The raven shook his head. They had to be sensible, and he hated being the reasonable one. He was Hibari Kyoya for goodness' sake, he didn't do reasonable! "If we're not going there to bite Herbivores to death, we should wait until the fight has settled down."

His partner twisted his head to see him. His eyes were shining a beautiful orange, just like his flames. The Sky gazed at him contemplatively before nodding slowly and turning again to wait for the sounds of battle to end. Kyoya had already seen that look a few times, but it still mesmerized him. Tsuna always seemed so distant and focused when he became like that.

()()()()()()

An hour passed and silence finally fell on the two boys. The battle was seemingly over.

They headed to the plaza. The sun was setting and cast long shadows on the streets, perfect for not being seen.

The plaza was littered with bodies, but thankfully, most lethal wounds were rather small due to gunshots. It was gory, but it could have been worse. Kyoya frowned. It wasn't his first time seeing corpses, but he didn't like the idea of the Omnivore seeing them. The brunet might be hardened and strong, but he was still oh so innocent in some ways.

But Tsuna didn't even spare more than a glance at the carnage. He was looking at the still standing men on the other side of the plaza. He recognized a few of them : apparently the Famiglia who had captured them had won. 'Good' thought Tsuna in his strange state of mind 'that means Hayato might have survived'.

He didn't know what had him so worried for the silveret's well-being. Maybe it was the look he had when the older mercenaries were slandering him, or the small hope he had seen in his eyes when he had talked about becoming a part of his contracting Famiglia. Tsuna knew what it felt like to be unwanted and rejected. To be insulted for things you were not entirely responsible for. And he could understand the need to belong better than most.

But his Intuition said that this Famiglia was not good for Hayato.

The two boys approached the surviving men as discreetly as they could. Tsuna's hearts lept in his chest when he spotted the silveret. He was bloody and bruised, and was favoring his right leg, but he seemed to be fine. At least his scowl had not disappeared from his face.

The grown-ups were talking to each other.

"Huh, didn't expect these fuckers to be so tough. A lot of good men got killed thanks to them." Said the man who had talked to them when they first arrived. The boss.

"At least we hired free-lancers, right? They got to be killed before our men." spit out thug number one. "Those scums were at least useful."

"Hey!" Hayato raised the head he had kept down all this time. He had a nasty black eye and a few bruises, noted Tsuna. "Just because someone's free-lance doesn't mean they're scum!"

"What?" growled thug number two. "Like you've got anything to say. You're a bastard child and have mixed blood. You should be thankful that you're allowed to breathe!"

The silveret's head fell down once more. Apparently he had heard these kind of comments before. "Whatever, just take me in you family already." he muttered.

The men surrounding him started to laugh.

"You really though we'd take in a stray dog like you in our Famiglia?"guffawed the leader.

"Haha! You're even more stupid than we'd though." added thug number two. Tsuna was starting to see red. Those men had tricked Hayato in putting his life on the line for nothing. And now they were trampling both his pride and his hope of finding a place to belong.

"Wha! You mean you won't make me a part of your Famiglia?" screamed the silveret. You could read the desperation on his face under all his anger. "You promised that if you won this fight you'd officially make me a member! You've won this fucking fight, so now you have to keep your word! You swore on the honor of your Famiglia, dammit!"

The men had started to laugh again, until Hayato mentioned their honor. Apparently, that was a subject they didn't like to hear smeared.

"Hey, you bastard" growled the leader while taking a threatening step towards Hayato. "A stray like you has no right to even talk about honor. You're just scum that has been left on the streets. We've picked you up to use you, but we sure as hell ain't gonna keep trash like you any longer than necessary." He sported a devious smile as an idea suddenly came to him. "And by the way, our contract was only valid if neither of us croaks during the fight. And it's too bad, but I get the feeling you won't survive much longer."

He pulled a gun out of one of his inner pockets and aimed it a Hayato's face. His two closest henchmen move to immobilize to stunned and betrayed silveret.

From the shadows he was hiding in, Tsuna's eye burnt brighter than ever before. Kyoya even saw an orange flame appear on his forehead. That had never happened before.

The usually kind brunet now looked furious and dangerous. It was the same look as the one he had when Ienobu injured Shoichi when he had tried to push Tsuna under a truck. Except for the flame on his head, which reminded the raven of the mane of a proud lion, ready to pounce on his prey and slaughter it in a flash.

While Kyoya was lost in his thoughts, he missed Tsuna walking towards the Mafiosi. That is, until his oddly deep and calm voice rang out in the plaza.

"That is enough."